Crafting Shadows into Architectural Folly| Chris Briffa Architects

This austere cliff-side holiday home in Malta’s sister island Gozo borrows concepts from Junichirō Tanizaki’s famed essay, In Praise of Shadows. “Nondescript and irrationally long”, describes Maltese architect Chris Briffa, whose first visit to this home proved unremarkable, save for the observation that the rising sun blinds much of the east-facing living room. On the ferry ride home, an idea from Tanizaki’s essay stuck - crafting a classic collision of shadows from traditional Japanese interiors and the dazzling light of the modern ages - and this architectural folly manifests seamlessly in the 230-square-metre apartment. A surreal, quasi-outdoor space marks the […]